Anthony Dimech, Rob and Bashir slay the kingfish in New Zealand Kingfish

All images copywright Epic Adventures, Carl Muir

Ant, Rob and Bashir booked this trip close to a year ago after seeing some of the big fish we caught last October.  They arrived in New Zealand to find 40-50 knot winds blowing so their first few days were spent doing the touristy thing, then finally the weather gods let us at the fish.  We towed the Stabi up to Whiti as the bar in Tairua was fair cranking.

Ron with his first, up at the Merc Pins in the morning

Ant getting the hook out of another warm up sized fish

With the average size at the Mercs down on the previous week we bolted over the 2m swells back down to the Aldie Pins to look for a better quality of kingfish and first drop Rob was in, on a blue rocket

Ant was next with a solid 20kg fish on a Blue Broken Arrow

Bashir nailed a PB with a nice 19kg fish

Ant slaying it on the JM350 and Blue broken arrow

Then all hell broke loose, Ant got hit by a freight train and it was chaos as he tried to hold on to the fish, thumb down, get some winds, he got pulled out of the gimbal a couple of times and had to hold on for dear life to avoid getting pulled in, not to mention a fair bit of yelling from the skipper,something like "this is a fish of a lifetime, get your shit together boy, or he's gonna do you...." it was good fun from the other side of the rod!  Ant got the fish turned and then the hard yards and a lot of grunting as he lifted him up the the boat, a whole lot of colour and Bashir helped me lift him in

A whole lot of fish

The boys leave Ant to hold up 36.5 kgs of kingfish!

Arms now jelly...

Plenty of high fives and photos and a bit of a clean up and next thing there is a surface bust up, Ant is on first cast on the popper about the second wind it got engulfed....... Daiwa Coastal and Certate getting put through their paces

19kgs of kingfish on 6kg gear....choice!

Bashir is into one next on the JM200

More surface action and on about the tenth cast and just as many follows on the popper Rob is on on the light stuff again

Thumbs up back in Whiti, biggest king weighed at the club for a while.....

Day Two and today we left Tairua hoping for another day fighting some monsters, we arrived to find the sea swarming with kings, Rob got the arms warmed up on the first

Bash got owned next up by a BIG fish from a pack of 30kg kings that followed and ate jigs right by the boat - it was madness!, man did some line peel off the Stella, Bash was in a whole lot of pain, you could see his back muscles quivering through his T Shirt as he tried to turn the fish, it was a monster of a fish that had the Stella howling and JM400 bent to the water

Go to it fella!  The hard graft begins

We got it boatsider and it was a fish of at least 30kg, we got the leader in hand and a hand on the fish but it was only barely hooked and one of those very rare ones that came free at the boat, and awesome capture for Bash, pity he didn't get a pic on the boat....not that the skipper didn't try, he went in after the fish......quick still from the video footage, we will pop up the guys footage dunk and all soon

Anth got stuck into a solid fish

Rob getting peeled, man these fish are fighting hard at the moment

Rob with a nice model on the trusty pink rocket

Bash got smoked on a couple of popper caught fish on the liught stuff, two of the most amazing surface strikes behind the boat that would almost eclipse a marlin strike, Bash with another jig caught fish,

Tim for some fun on the softbaits, Rob deals to a nice king on softbait gear on the silly string

Anth tries a similar trick only to get wasted by something substantial!

Yeah Rob, nice fish bro

Bash getting peeled on the JM200

Triple in the afternoon for the fellas - chur!

Fellas kicking back with some Tairua style sashimi

A few crays collected for the barbee!

Once again we arrived wide of the reef to find kings tailing on the surface, Early morning on day three, and a pair of nice kings go back!!!  Choice way to start the day!!!

Anth getting bent once again

Anth with a nice morning fish on the jig

Triple this time, the word was out about Anth's big fish from earlier in the week and there was a flotilla of boats following....

Bash with a solid model

Rob took out fish of Day Three cracking the 20 keg mark

Down to the last couple of drifts, make it pay fellas!

Anth deals to the last fish of the trip - on ya bro

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